The empty fruit and vegetable section of the hypermarket shut down by the Municipality. DOHA: A week after the forced closure of the fruit and vegetable section of a leading hypermarket in Doha, customers have been left wondering about the reason behind the closure in the absence of any official clarification. Some say that it was the first time they had seen a fruit and vegetable section in any shopping facility closed down by the authorities. The Municipality has posted a notice saying that the section was closed due to failure to comply with health requirements, without specifying the violations. The hypermarket’s management is mum on the reason why it was closed, stoking fear among its customers with regard to the safety of the products they buy from the shop. Visitors to the hypermarket were surprised of the sight of the area once filled with green vegetables now empty. What can only be seen are empty vegetable shelves fenced around the area plastered with ‘closed’ ribbon and Municipal Ministry notices posted all over the place saying ‘By the order of Municipality this business is closed due to failure of complying with health requirements’. An inquiry with some staff of the hypermarket revealed it was closed for about a week now and might be closed for several weeks more, but as to the reason why it was closed they refused to comment. The said hypermarket, which has several branches in the country, is very famous in Doha for being a one-stop-shop, which provides various items for every customer’s needs. Details of the violation were not mentioned in the notice which led to speculations among customers. Some customers said there might have been items which posed health hazards to consumers or even radioactive contaminated items which caused the shutdown of the outlet. Others are scared saying they might have purchased some items one or two days before it was closed and consumed these items which might be risky to their health. Some customers who went to the hypermarket refused to buy other consumable items such as dairy and meat products as the reason for the closure of the vegetable outlet was still unknown to them. They are asking the concerned authorities including the management of the hypermarket and the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning to disclose immediately the reason behind the closure of the outlet because this will be beneficial to both the customers and the hypermarket instead of just keeping mum on the issue. This will also serve as an example for other outlets not to repeat the same violation and lift doubts from customers on the safety of other consumable products sold in the hypermarket, some customers said. They said every outlet, whether big or small, should follow the Municipal Ministry rules. The Peninsula

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